The system moving into California from the north should be in and out quickly, leaving the forecast for Thursday cold and breezy with some leftover snowfall.

The focus will be on high winds until tonight.

Already, there are reports of downed power lines in Truckee, California, where winds are about 35 miles per hour. Weishahn says winds in the area could hit 50 to 60 miles per hour.

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8:40 a.m.

San Francisco Bay Area commuters can expect a soggy drive home Wednesday.

The National Weather Service says that winds will increase throughout the day with rains starting mid-afternoon. Forecaster Steve Anderson in the service's Monterey office says a wind advisory is in place until 7 p.m. tonight.

A three-day heat wave has delighted and perplexed people throughout drought-parched California, but a cold front moving in from Oregon should remind residents that it's still winter.

The system brings rain with most places seeing a quarter-inch to a half-inch as it moves through the region Wednesday and Thursday. It is expected to drop between 1 and 2 feet of new snow in California's highest peaks.